Lover On My Mind
by Macrocosm
Summary: AU. The Unholy Trinity live in New York City together, what happens when Rachel Berry moves in?
1. 1 The worst day of Santana's life

**A/N**

**I don't own Glee.**

**Let's just pretend that Juilliard has a musical theatre program ;) Let me know what you all think!**

_I asked Rachel to move in_

"WHAT?"

"OH HELLS NO!"

Quinn's gaze zeroed in on Santana, trying to portray the most vicious glare she can come up with. It's her way of saying _she's got to be kidding _and _you need to fix this! _But the Latina is staring at Brittany in utter shock and doesn't even notice it. "Baby no" Santana starts pacing back and forth, shaking her head as though she's trying to wake up from a horrible dream. "Berry is like, a social anchor dragging everybody within a ten metre radius down to the depths of loserville. There's no way in hell she's moving in with us."

Her tone is final and Quinn nods in support of her friend.

"You owe me San" Brittany agues crossing her arms defiantly "and Rachel's super sad and that makes _me _sad. She's like one of those pocket kids but instead of having a smiley face she's got a frowney face so nobody will want to buy her."

"Give me strength" Quinn pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Britts I can't live with the midget, she's like my arch enemy...it would be going against every movie you've ever seen if we lived together, and she looks like one of those bait girls on to catch a predator and I don't wanna come home and have Chris Hansen waiting ats my door."

A minute passes in where the three of them are all silent. Quinn watches Brittany, waiting for her to relent. Brittany picks at the nail polish on her fingers as though she's completely forgotten what they're talking about and Santana continues to wear holes in the carpet, muttering something in Spanish to herself.

"She has her own perfectly functional room on campus." Quinn finally sighs

"She can't stay there because her dads wont pay for it anymore!" Brittany huffs. "San I never ask for anything, I let you sleep on the side of the bed that's closest to the air machine that keeps you warm, and I always let you watch that show with the vampire and her diary even though its on the same time as Pokoyo every night and I even let you use the spare toothbrush on my lady parts even though it secretly tickles me more than it-"

"Ew!" Quinn's hands slap both of her ears. "B! Don't even finish that sentence!-"

"-You and Q are always doing stuff together that's super boring for me. I don't like watching American Idol and I don't like playing that game where we see who can get downstairs and back first because you always push each other and I get worried you'll hurt each other. I don't even like snakes and ladders, I just pretend to because I know that you's don't play other games because you think I won't know how to do them."

"Britts no" Quinn goes to comfort her friend but stops when Brittany continues speaking.

"But if Rachel lived here then she could do all the things that I like doing, I can totally tell she'd like them too, and then we could all have separate fun times and you and San can play other games while Rachel, Lord Tubbington and me can make secret forts together."

"Baby I can't do it!" Santana flails her arms out in frustration "if it was anyone else then maybe, but serio-"

"No!" Brittany stomps her foot on the ground "it's not fair S! You're being super stubborn and its making me mad! If you wont let Rachel live here then maybe I'll live somewhere else with her!" The tall blonde storms to her room and slams the door.

"_Mi dios _she has been hanging around the hobbit way too much lately. Fuuuuuuuck"

"I'm not living with Berry" Quinn gapes at Brittany and Santana's closed door while the Latina collapses on the couch and when Santana doesn't say anything Quinn continues. "You know its not happening right? I mean we both know that obviously you're a pushov-"

"Shut the fuck up sixteen and pregnant I'm trying to think"

"Whatever" Quinn stands up and throws the remote over in Santana's general direction. "I'm going to bed, you better fix that" she points at the closed door.

In the morning Quinn is surprised to see Santana snoring on the couch because it's the first night in a year and a half that her two best friends haven't slept in the same room. Even on their college breaks the girls would travel back to Lima and both stay with each family together, so she can imagine how much sleep the brunette _didn't_ get and decides to put off waking her for another fifteen minutes so that at least she can offer the girl some coffee. Quinn knows it's a bad sign on the Rachel Berry moving in front; usually Brittany just goes with the flow and lets the other two girls make important decisions but this time she seems to be sticking to her guns and that leaves an unsettling feeling in the ex head cheerleaders stomach.

With that thought in mind and two cups of coffee in her hands Quinn heads back into the lounge. Santana doesn't snap when she wakes up, instead she sighs, rubs her eyes and takes two large gulps of the coffee before heading into her room to get some clothes for the day. Quinn takes that as a bad sign.

She spends the entire time it takes for her to get ready mulling over the situation.

It's not that she hates Rachel Berry, she just has no interest in being anywhere near the girl and in the moments that they are in the same vicinity -which is far too often if Quinn's being honest- she feels like somebody is constantly drilling her head. Berry is a self-centred spoilt brat, she is loud, obnoxious, rude, and pretty much every bad quality a person can have. That's not what pisses Quinn off mostly about the girl though, it's the fact that the Diva (and everybody else) just assumes she's going to become a star, like there's no question about it. The first class she ever had with Rachel consisted of one of their drama lecturers going on about one of the Diva's Dads being a star and how he _just knows_ the small girl will be up on that stage within the next ten years. It pisses Quinn off, what about her? What about Santana? Their auditions were just as good as Berry's was, they were accepted into Juilliard as well.

Quinn thinks about the friendship that Brittany has formed with the diva over the last couple of months. First it started out with the both of them waving to each other on and around campus but Quinn didn't think much of it back then because, well, it was Rachel Berry and who cares enough to think about her? But it was when they started actually speaking to each other that it caused a little bit of a problem, more so with Santana who would bitch about how being seen with the dwarf was social suicide.

Quinn just brushed it off though, deciding to walk away when Brittany would stop to chat. She always assumed that it'd just take B a little more time to figure out what the Diva was really like because unlike her and Santana the two girls shared no classes together.

The perks of studying dance instead of musical theatre.

It was a few weeks ago that Quinn started noticing the friendship develop more. Every Wednesday and Thursday Brittany had one of her dance classes at the same time the musical theatre students had one of their lectures so usually what the girls would do is meet up in the cafeteria and have lunch together before going off and doing their own things, but the last couple of times have left Quinn and Santana having lunch without their friend because she's texted saying she was hanging out with none other than Rachel Berry. Quinn was pissed off of course, she hated the fact that Britts was ditching them for Rupaul, but it was nothing compared to the thunderous thoughts their Latina friend had.

_I swear I'm gonna gets my smack on with that Israeli dwarf_

_What the fuck is B doing? When I'm done with that poor excuse of a Jewish transvestite she won't wanna be anywhere near my girl, imma have Lima Heights imprinted on that puta's head forever._

She never said any of these things to Brittany though, Santana wouldn't even mention Berry to their friend and Quinn knew it was because she'd rather die than fight with Britts. That's why last night was such a big deal to all of them, it kind of felt like the world was turned upside down because Brittany was so mad with Santana that they slept apart.

"The fifties called, they wants to know why you keep stealing all their dresses"

"Original" Quinn rolled her eyes and walked over to the window.

Ever since they were 15 the girls had known they wanted to live in New York together but it wasn't until Brittany earned a scholarship at Juilliard because of some very important people seeing the way she dances at some competitions back in high school that Santana and Quinn were really forced to make some decisions. Quinn had always liked acting on stage because it enabled her to experience being somebody else; she also liked the privacy that came with it because people generally were more interested in her character than herself and the blonde had never really been an open book, but that didn't make the decision any easier though, because being on a stage had always been a hobby to her. It was something that she liked to do for fun and Quinn thought that if she pursued a career in it then maybe all the fun aspects would just end up feeling like chores. Eventually though, her choice was either Juilliard or Stanford, because she'd been accepted to both, but she didn't feel like pursuing a law degree in California was the right path for her because firstly; it was a family tradition to study law and Quinn Fabray was no sheep, and secondly it was just way too far from her best friends.

So luckily Quinn's family had always been well off and were willing to pay her way in whatever her decision was, because ultimately it was a huge turnaround from being sixteen and pregnant.

The decision for Santana was much easier, wherever Brittany went Santana went. It was as easy as that. So instead of tutoring Brittany in their last two years of school (like they always thought it would be) Santana was the one that was tutored, she needed to get into Julliard, she needed good grades and she _needed_ to be with B.

Luckily Brittany's Mom managed to find them a 2 bedroom apartment just off of Lexington Avenue on the East side of Manhattan. It's only about a 20 minute walk from campus, which was the equivalent of a 2 minute walk for the girls after suffering through years of Sue Sylvester's suicide routines. Unfortunately that meant that transport on rainy days wasn't an option though because all of the buses went on routes that took at least 40 minutes before they actually reached the campus.

"Overcast" Quinn internally cursed the New York weather in November.

They spent the walk through central park discussing how to deal with the Berry situation and it was no surprise to Quinn that after a night on the couch Santana was more open to it, well the most open she can be which wasn't very much. Quinn on the other hand downright refused to be forced to share any sort of space with the Diva.

"Britts isn't gonna give up on this Q, she's like a dog with a bone. After you went to bed I tried talking to her about it and when that didn't work I tried seducing her to get my own way but she wasn't having any of it" the Latina hit the crossing button repeatedly. "I don't know what the midget has said to her...and I don't even care, why's it our problem that her Dads don't wanna pay her way anymore? Grow the fuck up and fix your own problems. B is way too nice and Berry knew that and zeroed in on it like the little parasite that she is."

"We need to confront Rupaul" Quinn decided

"Yeah and then get the backlash from B? No thanks Juno my back is already killing me enough without having to spend another night on the couch."

"When did you become such a wimp? If channelling my inner HBIC is what is needed here then I'm happy to do it."

"Uhh? Inner? You think you've become nicer now that we've left Lima?"

Tuesdays were always Quinn's favourite day of the week because it meant that they'd have their drama technique's class instead of a boring lecture. These classes were run by a short fat balding man in his sixty's named Dwayne Bullard and most of the time it consisted of them just having fun. He liked to play silly improve games with the class to get them all relaxed and then usually they would split into groups and be given a scenario to play out by the end of the class. Mr Bullard was a really good teacher, he always made sure he was right there with them as opposed to sitting back and letting the students figure it out on their own. Whether it was breathing techniques, speech, or movement he never had a problem with helping a student come up with the most comfortable way to relax into their character.

Quinn also liked the fact that even though a lot of their lessons were based around music, the teacher never doted over Rachel. As much as she tried, Rachel didn't get all of the solos in their singing lessons and she definitely wasn't the best actress.

"The aim of this game is to see how well _you _as a performer, can mimic the style of another performer. It all comes down to technique, how quickly can you change your character? What range of emotions can you express?"

Most of the lesson was spent playing 'taxi cab', an improve game in which there are four chairs on the stage, the first chair is for a taxi driver who is the protagonist and he or she has to adopt whatever personality his or her passengers have, and all of the passengers have to have a distinct feature about them, like a hyper 4 year old, a prostitute or the president of the USA. By the time lunch came almost everybody in the class had played the role of one of the passengers and the taxi driver, but for the few that hadn't Mr. Bullard gave the option of continuing after lunch and Santana was adamant on channelling her inner _Abuela_. "They won't be able to mimic that shiz, Alma Lopez is ruthless! You know she tried to sell me off once? I was like 5!"

"You've mentioned it a few times." Quinn stabbed at one of the little cherry tomatoes that were in the salad she got for lunch. Ever since her pregnancy she hadn't been able to eat them, or any other sour food for that matter.

"She threatened to beat me up with a chair when she thought I was pregnant"

"When was this?" Quinn's eyebrow arched

"When I told her about Britts and me, she thought I was going to say I was pregnant"

"Wow" Quinn nodded, storing that little bit of information in the vault of her brain that has many other memories of her best friend's life. Santana 'came out' around junior year of high school and Quinn doesn't remember all that much of it because she had other things going on, like, trying to hide the fact that she was getting fatter every month. She remembers that for a while there Santana and Brittany weren't on speaking terms because the Latina was too afraid to 'be a lesbian' but eventually Santana sucked it up and told her family that she loved B like she was meant to love boys and because it had already been _so_ obvious for so long nobody really cared, the kids at school were far too afraid to say anything because they knew better than to mess with the Unholy Trinity.

"If you wants to have that chat with manhands she's over there" Santana nodded to somewhere behind Quinn. Rachel was sitting a few tables away from them eating one of her disgusting vegan lunches and humming something the blonde didn't recognize. Quinn rolled her eyes, stood up, and told Santana that she would meet her back in the auditorium before making her way over to the Diva.

"Listen here treasure trail. We're about to have a smack-down." Quinn slammed both of her hands on the table, feeling more than a little annoyed that Rachel didn't even flinch.

"Hello Quinn, I don't want to have a confrontation with you"

"Whatever is happening with you and B needs to stop _right now_. I was fine with ignoring the fact that she even decided to waste her time on you, but it's beginning to affect _my_ life and _my_ time so it needs to end now. Understand? Whatever problem you have that's causing you to move out of your room is just that, _YOUR_ problem."

"I'll have you know that Brittany and I are sharing a completely mutual friendship so I don't appreciate you insinuating that it's anything more than that; and while I can understand your opinion on the matter of Brittany offering me a room to stay in, I will always choose what's best for me and right now living somewhere close by, at an affordable price, is exactly what I need. Brittany has been a very sweet and caring girl and I think that the arrangement we have both agreed upon will benefit _all_ parties. For example- we can divide the rent between the four of us so financially you'll all have a little extra each month. Then there's also the fact that I'm a very organized and clean person so you won't hav-"

"BERRY!"

Rachel immediately closed her mouth and a few other people that were spread around the room glanced at the girls curiously. "I don't need to hear an essay on it. I don't care about anything you have to say, you're not living with us and that's final so what I need you to do is call B and tell her that you've made other... more suitable... arrangements, because I swear to God if you don't you wont only be dealing with me, Santana will physically beat the sense into you. Living with us?" Quinn laughed bitterly "what were you thinking?"

"I'm not scared of you Quinn Fabray, and I'm not scared of Santana either."

"Hmm" the ex cheerleader's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I've squashed bugs much bigger than you stubbles, have you ever heard of a facial slushy? With the click of my fingers I could have every single one of your argyle sweaters, plaid skirts, and atrocious cardigans permanently stained. But then, I guess id be doing you a favour right?" The blonde tilted her head to the side and then smirked hearing Rachel's breath hitch. "You think you're a social leper now? I could have the entire faculty thinking you have a bad case of hookworm by the end of the week."

"I..." Rachel stared wide eyed at Quinn. It's probably the first time ever that she's been speechless and Quinn feels a deep sense of pride for it. _Go team Fabray!_

"Just think about it Rupaul." Quinn smiles sweetly and then leaves the café wanting to get as far away from the Brunette as possible. There had already been enough people to witness the exchange between the two of them and Quinn didn't want to be socially associated with the girl at all.

A half an hour later Quinn finally got back to the auditorium and she didn't find it surprising that almost half of the class chose to go home for the second half of the day. The cool thing about college is that they don't get a detention if they're late for class unless it's a really important lesson, in college they are treated more like adults with more freedom and most of the time the teachers don't even care anyway so when confronted with the choice of waiting in the long ass line at the Starbucks across the road for a skinny latte or going back to class without it had to be made, it was a pretty easy one.

"Lifesaver" Santana pressed both of the takeaway cups to her cheeks while the blonde took her coat off and settled down in one of the audience seats with the other students that aren't participating in the improv game. Quinn spots Rachel sitting in the first row -always as close to a stage as she can be- and she notices that the girl is back to her normal irritating self. _So much for staying speechless_. "Look at Wheezy up there" the Latina quietly chuckled watching Mercedes do her best attempt at a British accent.

Another hour goes by before Santana actually gets her turn and as Quinn watches her best friend walk up the side steps to the stage she decides she's going to go home after this because it's getting colder and she's getting more tired and would like to have a nap before she skype's her sister Frannie later. Plus, she's already put more hours into today than what she usually would on a Tuesday.

"Rachel, taxi driver, go." Mr. Bullard points to the first chair on the stage and Quinn bites the inside of her mouth out of annoyance from the way the short girl claps excitedly before practically skipping up onto the stage. Santana has a trademark smirk plastered on her face watching the Diva, and Quinn sits up a little straighter just to get a better look. At first Rachel spends a couple of minutes pretending to change a radio station and the hums along to another tune Quinn has never heard before and when Santana steps closer to the Diva and sticks out her hand Rachel pretends to pull over.

"Hello, where would you like to go?" Rachel smiles brightly

"Lower East MASSIVE SCHNOZZ s-side p-please" the Latina stutters and then sits down on the seat behind Rachel. Quinn covers her mouth after snorting and looks between their teacher and the Diva on stage who is seconds away from having a tantrum.

"Mr. Bullard! This is unacceptable!" Rachel stands up and flails her arms out.

"Sit down Yentl, the only thing that's unacceptable is that sweater, you look like an institutionalized toddler" Santana nonchalantly looks at the length of her nails, earning a few laughs from the students around Quinn.

"Santana" Mr. Bullard warns

"What? Afores you start on me Sir, I just want you to know that people suffering from Tourette's syndrome totally take taxi's too"

"Well as a taxi driver I can refuse to pick you up" Rachel crosses her arms defiantly.

"First off, we all know you'd _never_ refuse the opportunity to pick me up" Santana smirks suggestively "and secondly that's discrimination and I'm sure the NTSA would love to hear about Rachel Berry refusing a role just because the character has Tourettes, isn't that right _star?_". Santana had them there. There was no way the teacher or Rachel could get out of that one, especially in front of the 15 other students that were watching them, because if any of them refused this scenario then it wouldn't exactly look good for them. Quinn loved Santana's sassy side.

"Alright I'll accept it, go ahead." Mr. Bullard waved his hand and sat back down. For a moment Quinn thought Rachel was going to storm out, but she doesn't and the rest of their time on stage is filled with lots of stutters and twitches and insults thrown back and forth. Quinn briefly wonders how much the two of them would make if they went on tour together because they're hilarious! Then she remembers that it's Berry and complimenting her in any manner is just _wrong_.

They stop by a supermarket on the way home and because Santana freaks about Brittany not answering her phone she leaves Quinn to finish the shop so that she can go check on their friend. Five full plastic bags later the ex cheerleader is cursing her friend for leaving her to carry the load back home and by the time she reaches their apartment she practically collapses through the front door.

"S! Get your lazy ass in-" Quinn notices a few boxes by the kitchen and leaves the groceries where they are, heading towards her friends shared bedroom. When she opens the door she can see the two of them on the bed- Santana lying down on Brittany's lap and sniffling while the taller blonde whispers comforting words to her.

"What's going on?" Quinn hesitates

"Hi Q" Brittany smiles "San is sad because I was gonna move in with Rachel but now it's all better because Rachel is gonna move in with us"

"S?"

"_Fuck off_ Juno"

"It'll be super fun!" Brittany continues, rubbing her lovers back. "San can move rooms and sleep in the same room as you and Rachel can sleep in here with me because you're not friends with her yet. We can also have secret spy meetings late at night and Rachel can tell Lord Tubbington that he has to stop his affair with Mrs Ginger that lives down the street because he won't listen to me, but Rachel's totally invasive"

"Um...persuasive?" Quinn frowns

"This is the worst day of my life!" Santana exclaims and Brittany starts whispering to her again. Quinn decides to leave them to it because her arms are sore, she's tired, and even beginning to think about Berry moving in right now is too much energy.


	2. 2 The move in

**A/N**

**I don't own Glee.**

**Okay let's address this, I'm cool with constructive criticism but when you write a review telling me that my story is a 'massive excuse to get away with a whole lot of Rachel bullying' after just one chapter, when I've read stories that are based on the Rachel character being physically and mentally abused, don't you think you're being ridiculous? I do.**

**A lot of Santana's quotes are actually from Glee, so the hate isn't even making sense to me, did we watch the same show?**

**I will always write my characters in a way that I think will benefit the story and if you want to label that 'high school mentality' then go for it, but remember that not everyone shits flowers once they leave high school. In saying that, I'm a lot further into the story than what I've posted and ALL of the characters have grown up a little. Reading it is optional you know.**

**I love Rachel, she's my favourite character, why would I write a Faberry story just to bully her? come on guys.**

"My name is Brittany S. Pierce and I finally know how Jesus feels in his house way up at the North Pole because I am on top of the world. My second year at college so far has been awesome. I lived with my two best friends in the world up until today and now my other best friend Rachel has moved in and my life feels super awesome right now, I feel like I could run for class president... except I think in college they don't have those."

"Brittany who are you talking to?"

"I thought I was doing a voice over." The tall blonde picks up a toy mouse off of her bed and then sighs. "I wish Lord Tubbington was home, he promised he would be."

"I'm sure he'll show up sometime soon. Brittany do you have any particular side of the wardrobe that you'd like to use because I think having my clothes on the left side and your clothes on the right would help us stay organized since they'll be closer to our beds." Rachel bent down to pick up another bag of clothes.

"I really wanted him to be here because I was going to ask you to be a guest on our internet talk show, Fondue for Two." Brittany sits down on the bed, disappointed.

"Your Internet talk show?" The brunette spins around and eyes her friend suspiciously. "This isn't one of those tricks where you invite me to speak about the personal struggles one has to overcome on the path to stardom, to then edit it and add Rock Lobster by the B-52's as background music before playing it to everybody at Juilliard to humiliate me? Because I'll have you know Brittany, that someone has already beaten you to _that_ trick. It was in high school and the hype faded away after a mere 3 months."

"Rachel we're like totally friends now so I wouldn't do that. We just talk about rumours and stuff" Brittany shrugs "oh and we eat hot cheese as well because that's like, a combination of my favourite things."

"Oh" Rachel nods "well I suppose that sounds like fun, although I'll have to pass on the cheese because I'm a vegan but I'd be happy to be a guest on your show" Rachel starts hanging some of her dresses on the left side of the wardrobe.

"Does that mean that you eat grass?"

"No it's a diet that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products and all other animal-derived ingredients but that doesn't mean I don't get to have treats as well, for example you can buy vegan ice-cream and vegan cakes."

"Are they yummy?"

"They're delicious" Rachel nods. "Have you ever been to a Babycakes Bakery? There's one across from Julliard that caters to a variety of different dietary requirements. Do you think I should get us all a cake to share? It could be a way of showing how grateful I am to you, Santana and Quinn for allowing me to move in, although they were hesitant at first...and probably still are... I'm still glad we could all work out a reasonable arrangement. Do you know if Santana and Quinn like cake? I don't want to overstep any boundaries. I wonder what flavour I should get, there's so many to choose from and I don't know what you all like! I have to text Dad at once! When he brings the last of my things back here we could go together and if you'd like you could help me choose which cake would be the most appropriate option." Rachel sucked in a big breath and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Sure, I like cake" Brittany shrugs.

* * *

><p>"Ok what do we say when B asks us where we've been all day?" Quinn swipes her card into the lock to unlock the entrance door to their building and then holds it open for Santana.<p>

"Uhh anything other than what we've actually been doing. I can't believe we sat at Starbucks for 4 hours just to avoid Berry's Dad. It's bad enough that we'll have to go into _our_ home and see _her_ crap everywhere. Mi chica owes me biiiiig time for this."

"Hmm. Are we still on for tonight?"

"Do you even need an answer to that?" Santana presses the fourth floor button on the elevator. "It's a Saturday night and I needs to gets my groove on."

"Do you think B will come out?"

Santana shrugs "But I draw the line at Yentl, its bad enough sharing the same air as she does let alone being seen in public with her. I'd choose you and your granny dresses over that midget any time and any day my friend."

"I'm doing you a favour by letting you be seen with me in public moron, and for the record I just want you to know that even if B bails out you're flying solo. I'm totally on the hunt tonight"

"We've come along way from high school haven't we Miss chastity? A new chico in your bed every weekend reowwwww! I wonder what Daddy Fabray would say"

"Are you calling me a slut?" Quinn unlocked the apartment door

"I calls them as I sees them. BRITT-BRITT WE'RE HOME!"

A new guy every week was an exaggeration and Santana knew that just as much as Quinn did. It was probably twice a month in the last year and a half and she hadn't even slept with them all, sometimes she just wanted somebody to be there and hold her and even though that's still a lot of... company, Quinn felt justified by it. She'd come along way since her captain of the Celibacy club days. As soon as the ex cheerio had fallen pregnant she knew that she'd missed her chance at being the perfect virginal Christian wife so Quinn didn't feel like there was a point in pretending anymore. Instead she set a goal for herself; to find somebody that she could enjoy sleeping with. Ever since Santana was 15 years old and lost her own virginity she'd been blatantly honest about how much she enjoyed sex, sex with girls, boys, threesomes, foursomes- it didn't matter because she loved it almost every single time.

Quinn never enjoyed it, ever.

Her first time was with a boy named Noah Puckerman. A sleazy Jewish troll. Quinn was having a bad day, she felt fat and got drunk off the most disgusting wine-coolers she'd ever had and he was just...there. At first Quinn thought it was normal that she hadn't enjoyed it because, well, it was her first time and who does? But five months into her pregnancy her hormones were driving her crazy, she'd spent so many hours sitting in cold showers that something needed to be done. She needed to release all of that pent-up frustration inside of her. So they had sex a second time.

She hated it.

That must have been because she was pregnant though, because who would enjoy sharing the most intimate act possible with another person when they felt like a beached whale? At least he seemed to enjoy it.

It was when Quinn, Santana and Brittany had hit college that she started to suspect that something wasn't right with her. They were invited to a house party within the first week of arriving in New York; the drinks were flowing, everybody was having a good time and Quinn had been talking to this really sweet guy named Josh. She didn't really want to have sex with him that night but her friends had disappeared an hour into the party and Josh was being such a gentlemen, making sure she had a glass of water with every alcoholic drink, holding her bag when she needed to use the bathroom. He was just really sweet and Quinn couldn't find a reason not to sleep with him.

So she did and it sucked, it really, really sucked.

The next guy Quinn slept with was named Beau, one of the dancers in Brittany's class. They were at one of the nightclubs that was well known to Julliard students and he was lean, fit and had scraggy blonde hair. Girls were glaring at the attention he was giving Quinn that night and she thought _why not? I'm sober so let's see how this goes._

It was around that time that she finally accepted she had a problem but Quinn Fabray was far too proud to actually talk to anybody about it, even her best friends. So she turned to the Internet and found the world _Asexual_. None of it made any sense though because she _did_ get sexually aroused, quite often, it felt like she was back at square one and the only thing Quinn could think to do from there was sleep with more guys.

Maybe it was just a matter of finding the right one.

"S, Q you're back! Rachel's here and I met her Dad and he was super cool!" Brittany assaults them both in an excited hug the moment they cross through the door. "We unpacked everything and Lord Tubbington finally came home and met his new roomie and then we went out and got cake! Rachel got us a vegan thank you cake! But don't worry it hasn't got any grass in it because I told the lady at the bakery that I was allergic to it."

"B I can't breathe" Quinn grunts pushing herself out of the hug. Brittany's hugs were always like that, bone-breaking and life-sucking. The girl seriously didn't know her own strength.

"HOBBIT GET YOUR BIG ISRALI BEAK IN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Quirking an eyebrow the shorter blonde smirked at the way Rachel scurried into the room holding a cake larger than her head. "Hello Santana, Quinn" the Diva flashed them both a hopeful smile. "I hope you're both well. I-I thought it would be a nice gesture to bring you both a gift." She held the cake out in front of her as though she thought they hadn't already seen it. "I really appreciate you both letting me stay here and I would just like to say that even though we find ourselves on opposite sides of the social ladder that I am willing to put the past behind us and work towards forming a life-long frie-"

"Okay stop there" Santana held her hand up and Quinn chuckled deciding to take a seat on the couch. "Sit down over there on the couch Yentl" _ok scrap that _Quinn moved to one of the two single chairs in their lounge room. "We needs to go through the rules." Santana crossed her arms in front of Brittany and Rachel who had both made themselves comfortable on the couch the moment Santana told Rachel to sit. Quinn studies the short brunette, she wonders why Rachel dresses the way she does. _Is it because she never had a female figure to take her clothes shopping? Is she aware that half the time she looks like she's about to go out and play a game of polo?_ Quinn knows these are questions she'll never get answered.

"Rules" Rachel nods "I think rules are an important way of life, I pride myself on-"

"-Mi dios!"

"-Keeping up a set standard to the rules I've set upon myself. For example, I always make sure to keep up a rigorous workout routine at 6.30AM every morning so tha-"

"Rachel shhhh" Brittany holds her hand over the shorter girls mouth.

"Rachel" Santana sighed and held her palm to her temple. "You are short, you are awful and that's never going to change" Quinn glances over at the Diva to see a frown appear on her forehead. "I know that sometimes that big head of yours is so overloaded with information that you look like you're about to explode, but if there's ever gonna be something I need you to remember it's this, so pay attention." The Latina starts pacing. "You're here because my girl (for some fucked up reason) likes you. Don't ask me why she does cause I gots no idea- maybe she hit her head!" Santana throws her arms up "but what I do know is that if you being here make's her happy then fine, I can deal with that, but by no means does that make us friends. You're loud, you dress like the fantasy of a perverted Japanese businessman with a very dark and specific fetish and like Medusa, I try to avoid eye contact with you."

Quinn snorts

"So this is how its gonna be, you sleep, you eat and you make my girl happy. Unless there's an emergency- and I'm talking earthquake type of emergency- then you don't talk to us, you don't even _look _at us. You leave the apartment separately from us, if we're in this room then you're in another room and if I hear any Chinese whispers on campus about you living here then I will ends you."

Rachel waited a few moments and then cleared her throat "May I speak now?"

Santana rolls her eyes and nods once.

"Firstly I would like to say that I have kindly listened to everything you have to say so I can only hope that you'll have enough courtesy to return the kindness." Rachel waits to see if anyone is going to interrupt her and when they don't she continues "Because I am a team player" Quinn scoffs "I accept your rules and will follow them to the best of my ability but I just want you to know this. You can't tell me what to do Santana." Rachel glances at Quinn quickly "Nobody can, and if I want to sit in here and watch the television I will, regardless of if Quinn is sitting there or you're sitting here. Now that we've got that sorted I would like to offer you some cake, it's an almond and berry vegan chocolate cake"

"Tubbers?" Santana quirks an eyebrow at Quinn.

"I'm allergic to berries" Quinn smirks at Rachel.

"Suit yourself" The Latina leans forward and sticks her hand in the middle of the cake, grabbing a big chunk to shove in her mouth.

"That's super gross San" Brittany chastises "come on Rachel lets go record Fondue for Two" and at that, she stands up, takes the cake from the Diva's hands and passes it to Santana before walking off to her room. Rachel hesitates for less than a second before following Brittany and when their bedroom door is shut Quinn grabs the remote and tells her best friend that she's disgusting.

* * *

><p>Rachel likes her new room. It's much bigger than the one she had at Julliard and even though she's sharing it with Brittany it's the first time she's been allowed to put her posters and ticket stubs on a wall and it reminds her of her room back at home.<p>

The entire apartment looks completely different than what she expected it to and Rachel likes to think that she was raised with an open mind but it was hard not to expect it to look a certain way. She thought it would look much more modern, more pristine, but instead the whole place has a look that has been out of style for 10 years.

When you first walk through the front door you're confronted with a large lounge area, there's a couch, two chairs and a television and that's basically it. The small kitchen sits to the right of the lounge and both the kitchen and the lounge room kind of flow into each other, only separated by the small kitchen bench. If you kept walking straight from the front door you'd find a small hallway with Santana and Quinn's bedroom door to the right (next to the kitchen) and the bathroom and laundry doors on the left. The room Rachel and Brittany share is off of the lounge room. The first thing the Diva thought about the apartment was that it had a pretty basic layout, something straight-forward and easy to remember which she liked. The second thing was how much she hated the cream walls and carpets and that Quinn seemed to be the only one that didn't have random items of her belongings spread around the house. Santana's clothes could be found in almost every room and Brittany had random bits of everything here and there.

Rachel did like her room though. There were now two single beds on opposite walls and Brittany's side of the room was filled with rainbow flags, posters of unicorns and little pictures of all her loved ones. Her bed cover was pink with a unicorn on it and she had a large amount of stuffed animals covering the bed. That side of the room was generally colourful, it felt warm and welcoming and it made the brunette feel happy.

"Hi I'm Brittany, welcome to Fondue for Two, on today's show my guest is my new really, really loud but also really, really tiny roomie. Miss Diva Rachel Berry!"

"Hello Fondue for Two fans" The brunette waved excitedly at the webcam.

"Ok so, lets get down to some hot dish." Brittany leaned forward and took a big chunk of melted cheese from the pan she used to cook it in. "I'm anxious to know if Mike and Tina's children will be Asian. Rachel what are your thoughts on this?"

"I wasn't aware that Tina Cohen Chang was pregnant?!"

"She isn't but Lord Tubbington is a tabby cat and his Mom was a ginger"

"Okay..." Rachel frowns not really knowing how to answer that

"I heard a rumour that Santana plays for the other team" Brittany nods wrapping some cheese around her finger. "And I can confirm that rumour its 100 percent true."

"Oh my gosh! Brittany! Lord Tubbington is eating some of your cheese!" Rachel leans forward to try and push the fat tabby cat away.

"That's cool, he's allowed to because he's on Atkins" Brittany shrugs. "Kay well that's all we have time for this week, tune in next time for some more hot dish!" The blonde leans forward and turns the webcam off.

"That was a very quick web show" Rachel feels a little disappointed that she didn't even get to promote her myspace page at all, she wonders if she should ask her friend to put a link in the description box once she's edited the video.

"Short and sweet" Brittany smiles.

* * *

><p><em>Eyes on the prize Fabray, he has shiny black locks of hair that you can grip into, beautiful olive skin, muscles to die for, porcelain teeth and a chiselled jaw line. If this one doesn't work then you're truly a lost cause because this guy is Vogue.<em>

"Mmm not here" Quinn wraps her fingers around the hockey player's wrist and pulls him towards her bedroom. "I have roommates that wouldn't appreciate it."

The boy nods dumbly and lets Quinn lead him down the hallway towards her room and when they stop outside the door she quickly wonders if it would be rude to ask him to shave his stubble before they sleep together. It's prickly and annoying, but before she could voice that opinion wet lips find hers again and Quinn sighs into it and decides to just get it over with. A part of her knows that this is already a lost cause because he's so damn good looking and he's been moderately sweet all night yet still all she can think about is how annoying his stubble is.

"Tell me how you want it" his deep voice growls against her neck and before she knows it a tongue is forcing its way into her mouth and strong arms are lifting her off of the floor. Quinn lets his tongue run along hers, her fingers holding onto the soft locks of his hair and she tries her best not to think about what type of shampoo he uses but it's hard when his hair is softer than hers. A minute passes and at this point the ex cheerleaders back begins to strain against the cold wood of the door and she knows she's probably too focused on how much noise they're making as opposed to how they're making it but before she can think too much into that she pulls away from his lips and breathlessly leans down to open the door behind them.

He carries her into the bedroom and their lips meet again in the dark and from the way that he drops her onto her bed Quinn can tell that the hockey player's confidence has sky-rocketed at this point, but she doesn't mind, she's quite happy to not have to do much. "You are fiiine" he takes a moment to appreciate her body. The blonde only smirks and spreads her thighs a little further apart because she _knows_ she's attractive.

He's attractive too, and they're about to have attractive, enjoyable sex.

"How do you want it baby?" his voice pulls Quinn from her thoughts and even though she can't see much because it's dark in the room, she can hear a zipper and knows what he's doing. Seconds later rough hands are pushing both sides of her dress up from her thighs to her stomach and Quinn's breath hitches at the familiar feeling of his arousal pushing against her panties, because as familiar as it is it's never felt comfortable.

"Quick" she pushes up on her elbows to meet his hungry lips.

In her time, Quinn has slept with a reasonable amount of guys, she's kissed even more than that, and one thing she's learnt is that they like to have control. Whether it's something to do with ego or dominance she has no idea, but _every single time _it's always the same. They kiss rough and push hard and in the couple of times that the blonde challenged that by climbing on top, or taking his clothes off first, Quinn found out that it was just easier to let them have their own way. The blonde wasn't stupid though, she questioned whether it was just the type of guys that _she_ slept with that were like that, or if it was something else entirely.

"Have you got protection?"

"Yeah just lemme- HOLY SHIT!"

A number of things happen in the following seconds, first was that Quinn's heart jumped out of her chest at the shocked voice of her lover, then there were voices heard coming from the other end of the apartment, a thud sounded against the carpeted floor that was followed by a loud squeak and then finally a shocked looking Santana and a tired looking Brittany were both standing at Quinn's door.

The hockey player was now on the floor next to Quinn's bed which explained the thud and Quinn knew her friends were standing by the door looking alarmed because they had heard the guy scream, but what explained the squeak _and_ the entire situation they were all in now; was a frightened brunette sitting on the floor at the end of the bed with a deer-caught-in-headlights look spread across her face and the moment the dots connected in Quinn's brain she went from shocked to _furious_ within a second.

"What-are-you-doing" Quinn's eyes locked on Rachel

"I-"

"-Were you perving on us Rupaul!?" Quinn's eyes narrow dangerously

"No! I-I didn't know, and then I t-tried to get out without being noticed and he kicked my h-head!" the Diva stuttered frantically.

"Don't even think about lying right now because I swear to God I'll-" Quinn let that sentence trail off when she noticed what Rachel could clearly see _and _was staring wide eyed at. _Jesus! _The blonde hadn't moved from the position she'd been in just moments before when the room was dark and they hadn't been interrupted, and unfortunately for Quinn that mean that everybody could now see her panties because her dress was sitting up near her hips. "RACHEL!" she screamed- actually screamed.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I thought that I could stay in her b-because Santana wanted to be intimate with Brittany b-but I didn't know you were going to have company! I didn't even know if y-you were going to return home tonight or not because it was extraordinarily late b-bef-"

"This is just _too_ good" Santana made her presence noticeable by stepping closer into the room and then smirked down at her embarrassed friend. "Esto es perfecto! Oh my God" she turned back around "am I dreaming right now B?"

Brittany slowly shook her head, she seemed to be the only person in the room that didn't seem all that fussed by what was going on. She just rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"This shit is gold. So let me gets this straight…" The Latina grinned at everybody in the room. "You two were about to gets your sex on without knowing that the midget was sleeping in the same room. Then when she tries to sneak out like a little rat crawling on the carpet, your boy toy here kicks her in the head and then screams -you scream like a bitch by the way-" she smirked at the guy "thus leaving us all in here graced with the wonderful view of Q's pink panties!.

"_Oh my God_" Quinn whispers, cheeks flushed red as she stands up off the bed.

"Quinn I'm so sorry! If I had of known you were going to have comp-"

"Don't talk to me!" The blonde doesn't even look at Rachel. Instead she focuses on giving her now ex best friend the coldest glare she can muster. It doesn't help much that her cheeks feel like they're on fire and it doesn't stop Santana from laughing even harder. Eventually after a few long seconds the three girls leave the room and even though Quinn can still hear her friend laughing from the lounge room it's a relief not to have to actually see it, or the wounded look on Rachel's face.

Ignoring the hocky player that's still sitting stunned on the floor Quinn goes about taking off her dress and pulling out an old t-shirt and pair of shorts out of her dresser because all she wants to do now is crawl up into a tiny ball under her blankets and ignore everything. Ignore the fact that she feels kind of bad for being so harsh to the tiny Diva when in fact the girl was just trying to get out of the awkward situation unnoticed. Ignore the fact that Santana isn't going to be forgetting this anytime soon, ignore the guy that's still sitting on her floor. Mostly she just wants to ignore the fact that before Rachel had interrupted them, it wasn't really happening for her anyway.

The next morning Quinn wakes to an empty room at an ungodly hour for a Sunday but at least luck is on her side because the house is quiet and there's no sign of her roommates anywhere so the blonde revels in a long hot shower because _stuff them_, they can have cold ones. Washing her hair she recalls the night's events. Not that long after the girls left her and the hockey player alone she'd sent the guy home without exchanging numbers and then crawled into bed hoping to sleep away everything.

It didn't work though; Quinn must have woken every single hour from a weird repetitive dream. Over and over she'd see eyes that looked as dark as the ocean at night and even though they felt familiar she couldn't pinpoint where she'd seen them before, the dream wasn't scary but it wasn't nice, it just felt unsettling. It was a combination of those dreams and her conscience about being such a moron to Berry that kept her awake. But would she apologise to the Diva? _No_, definitely not.

Maybe if it was anyone else.

Quinn usually hated Sundays because they were always a battle between handling a hangover and catching up on her assignments. Usually Brittany was the first awake and would've claimed the television hours before Quinn woke up but not today, today the only other living creature that the ex cheerleader had to share a couch with was an overweight tabby cat. "You seriously need to go on a diet" she mumbled scratching Lord Tubbington behind the ears. There was nothing on tv, the one time that Quinn actually got it to herself and her only option was the news or a guy named Pastor Pete preaching about the sin that is homosexuality. Quinn hesitates- doesn't want either of her best friends to wake up and see what she's watching because she knows it would hurt them, but, listening to Pastor Pete drone on makes her feel safe, it reminds her of home and she misses her family even if they live inside a conservative little box.

That doesn't go to say that she herself is homophobic, she doesn't even think God really hates gay people like her Daddy claims, he just condemns their sins which is the same thing as condemning everyone else's sins but does that stop Christians from eating shellfish? No it doesn't. Santana and Brittany are in a relationship that's considered a sin to Quinn's church but that doesn't mean she's going to turn her back on them because you can't help who you love, and she loves them.

Overall Quinn doesn't think that much about it because she's comfortable with her relationship with God. It's not something that she has to worry about. She's not a homosexual.

* * *

><p>The main reason why Rachel Berry decided to ask her Daddy's for an elliptical machine when she turned 13 was that she needed to maintain a healthy workout routine along with a healthy diet and the second was that you never, ever, <em>ever<em> see pictures of Barbra Striesand or Liza Minnelli or Patti Lupone running around the streets of New York in their workout attire and Rachel Berry, even as an upcoming star, was not going to risk a picture of her pulling embarrassing faces whilst sweating to be taken for anybody to sell when she eventually hit's stardom.

It just wasn't an option.

So when Brittany met with Rachel at their college's cafeteria on Thursday afternoon with the list of items Rachel had given her to show Santana and Quinn (just so that they would be prepared on how many things she had wanted to move in with) Rachel was disappointed to see that they'd both crossed off Elliptical machine. Santana had even gone a little further by writing _no room for that manhands, walk like a normal person. _Rachel had gone back to her dorm room that night and spent hours planning the best route to go for runs on because things like that are important, she lived in New York, a city, and needed to make sure that she ran somewhere secluded but still within a reasonable distance of safety and unfortunately the only place to do that that was close enough to their apartment was Central Park. Luckily enough not that many people wanted to be out running at 6.30 in the morning though, only other joggers and running groups and none of them seem to be fussed with taking pictures of Rachel.

What was bothering Rachel today was that even though she'd been running for over an hour without stopping once, she still felt like she needed to push her self more. Every now and then the muscles in the back of her legs would protest in pain and the Diva would find herself sliding along the gravel path but after the third time of that happening Rachel didn't bother stopping because she needed to clear her head.

_Quinn. _Rachel sighed and pushed further.

Rachel didn't know how to approach Quinn after what happened last night, she knew that the blonde girl would most likely still be upset with her and that didn't bother Rachel at all because it was something she was used to. What bothered her was the fact that she couldn't get the image of Quinn's panties out of her head. Rachel had always been very perceptive, especially when it came to her own body and mind so she knew that obviously she was attracted to Quinn, the blonde was a very beautiful girl- probably the most beautiful Rachel had ever seen. What was bothering her; was that after last night, she now knew she was _sexually_ attracted to Quinn.

_Pink cotton panties._

Rachel didn't realise she should start heading home to shower and eat something until she'd reached the north end of the park and was faced with a busy sidewalk full of people hurrying to go places and cars honking their horns. If she ran any further she'd literally be running into traffic and briefly that thought seemed more appealing than going home to face a very angry Quinn Fabray. That thought unsettled her though, she was Rachel Barbra Berry and there was no way she was going to be intimidated by Quinn, or her desires for Quinn. Yes, Rachel was just going to 'suck it up' as they say. Go home and get on with her day because ultimately she knew that her sexual desire for the girl probably came from a mixture of things, the fact that Quinn was a pretty girl, the fact that Rachel was under a lot of stress with everything going on with her Dad's lately, and probably even the fact that she hadn't seen Finn in a couple of weeks, although she was a little less sure about that reason. Ultimately Rachel knew last night and this morning was just like a blip, it wasn't important, it was insignificant and it didn't matter because Quinn was completely straight, and she was also very rude.

The Diva spent the run home thinking about a much safer topic instead.

Finn was a really sweet guy...most of the time, and Rachel knew that she really liked him a lot, he was very tall which had always been appealing to her, and even though he wasn't really good at expressing his feelings he tried for Rachel, he _really_ tried and she appreciated that. Sometimes when Rachel would look at him she'd see a future.

It was like a play that repeated itself over and over in her head where she would come home with a dozen red roses in her arms to see Finn Hudson and their two children (a boy and girl) sitting on the couch waiting for her. Rachel would kiss him on the cheek in thanks for the beautiful roses and then go on to tell them how much fun she had had that evening on stage and how captivated the audience were by her voice. Finn would call her babe and tell her that he thought she played Fanny Brice better than even Barbra herself and Rachel would blush and hit his arm lightly saying that although she knows she is extremely talented and loved by her millions of fans, that she knows and has accepted that nobody could ever play a part as good as the great Barbra Streisand.

It was in the moments when he would say something sweet that she'd see that future in her head. Rachel often wondered if she should tell Finn that if he wanted to ask her to go on a date that she would accept his invitation. She never did though, and now entering through the front door of her new home Rachel decided that she would change that.

Unfortunately the moment that decision entered her head it left because the first thing that she heard after putting her water bottle on the kitchen bench were the words '_abomination_' and '_male on male_' and '_sinners_'. Rachel liked to think of herself as a very reasonable and level headed person most of the time but every now and then there was an exception and right now that was Quinn Fabray purposely trying to rile her up by watching some homophobic preacher speak about how everything Rachel ever knew was wrong and she wasn't just going to stand there and take it.

"While I respect that you have the right to watch whatever you want in your own apartment and on your own television I feel that morally I have to step in and say that I am highly offended and very disappointed that somebody who can bring home another person for the intent of sexual intercourse -to then have him leave in the early hours of the morning- can so openly sit here and watch this...this _man_ speak about love that way. A love that my fathers and your best friends seem to share! And a love that those people have shared with their respected partners _alone!_" Rachel paced back and forth in front of a stunned blonde and a fat tabby cat.

"You're all sweaty"

"And furthermore I would just like to say that I think we have come a very long way from the days when people would form preconceived opinions that are not based on reason or actual experience! There are no black slaves anymore, women can vote and gay people can get married in a number of States now and the world didn't end so I think you should reconsider your television show options!" And with that Rachel stormed out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Q?"<p>

_Rachel's legs_

"Quinn?"

_Rachel's long, long legs_

"Tubbers!"

_Rachel angry_

"Do you think Q's been stunned San? Like in Harry Potter when that girl you always say is ugly even though I know you secretly google her pictures sometimes points her wand at the boy and then he freezes because I'd be super sad if she was stunned too..."

_Rachel angry and sweaty with her long, long legs_

"No B, she's just being estupido, watch this"

"OW!" Quinn glares at Santana and instantly throws the little ring that had hit her in the head back at her friend. "That actually really hurt you know!"

"Q! I'm so glad you're not stunned!" Brittany runs over to the blonde and wraps her into an awkward hug before plopping down on the couch next to her and grabbing the remote. Quinn's eyes widen at the Latina searching for her ring across the room because she's scared that Santana will hear the same sort of words coming from the tv that Rachel clearly did and then chastise Quinn for watching Pastor Pete. Brittany changes the channel though, and Santana's too busy bitching to herself about the ring being diamond and how if it's lost that Quinn's fat ass owes her a new one.

Quinn very slowly releases a breath.

"You are so lucky I found it puta" Santana glares, holding the ring up. "Now what the fuck was Yentl yelling about? Woke us up! Where is she? I'm gonna smack that hobbit down!"

"Just leave it S" The ex head cheerio sighs, rubs her temple and tries desperately to ignore the ache between her legs. Quinn understood what she was feeling, but she didn't get the reason why. It was just Rachel in tight shorts and a sweaty top, Rachel in tight shorts and a sweaty top yelling incomprehensible words at Quinn while her chest heaved from either the workout she'd clearly had or the anger she was clearly feeling. But still, just Rachel man-hands Berry and Quinn didn't want to feel anything like what she was feeling right now because of the _girl_.

Santana grumbled for a further 5 minutes and then asked Brittany if she wanted to go back to bed, when Brittany said no Santana kicked one of the lounge chairs and went back to bed by herself yelling something in Spanish but Quinn didn't really care because she could hear the water stop running from the bathroom which meant that within minutes the Diva would probably be back out there to chastise Quinn more and that was something she really didn't want to deal with right now so she hopped up off the couch and followed in her friends footsteps deciding that the only reason she had the niggling feeling in her lower stomach is because she's exhausted and needs sleep.

It definitely had nothing to do with Rachel, at all.


	3. 3 The two sides of Quinn

**A/N**

**Hecho y hecho - Done and done. Let me know what you all think :)**

**I don't own Glee.**

A few weeks had passed since the incident with Quinn, Rachel and the hockey player and luckily everybody had moved on from it. Santana had only teased the blonde a couple of times and during the rare conversations Quinn and Rachel shared with each other the Diva hadn't mentioned it, or the morning after, at all.

They'd all settled into a living routine of sorts and Quinn was surprised to find out that living with Rachel was bearable, she didn't know if it was because the girl generally avoided her and Santana when they were all in the apartment at the same time, or if it was just that she'd been too distracted with getting ahead on her all of coursework so that she'd be able to spend the Thanksgiving break free of stress. Either way, she hadn't seen much of Rachel at all. They technically only had the Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving and Quinn didn't see a point in travelling back to Lima for it, what sucked was that the Fabray's never passed up a chance to pray on a holiday together so the moment she'd told her Mom she wasn't coming home Judy had insisted that her and Quinn's Dad Russell spend Thanksgiving in New York instead.

Her only solace was that they were staying in a hotel.

As far as Quinn knew, Santana and Brittany didn't have any plans for the break but she knew her best friend well enough to know that the Latina had no intentions of spending any more time than necessary with the Fabray's so Quinn didn't have to worry about her two friend's being intimate with each other in front of her parents.

Rachel was a different story though, the ex cheerleader thought she'd heard the Diva mention something to Brittany earlier in the week about spending Thanksgiving with one of her Dad's at some Kosher restaurant in downtown Manhattan, but she hadn't really listened in closely on that conversation and she needed to confirm it with Rachel because planning the Thanksgiving lunch at the same time would be a good idea. Heaven forbid Russell and Judy Fabray meet the loud Diva with the two gay Dads, just thinking about it made Quinn picture her parents disapproving faces.

The plan was to have her parents over for a Thanksgiving lunch on the Thursday, and then hopefully to keep them both busy with all the fun things New York had to offer tourists on the other three days that they were in New York. That way there wasn't any other reason for them to go back to her apartment.

"Hey, what are you still doing up?" Quinn put her bag down by the door and walked over to the kitchen bench. Rachel was pulling a tray out of their oven and the smell coming from whatever she'd just baked assaulted the blonde's nostrils. "Jesus, Berry."

"I can assure you that they taste much better than they smell. You can try one when they cool down if you'd like, and to answer your question, Santana asked...well _told_ me to stay out of the room tonight so I thought I'd bake these" The smaller girl shrugged. "Brittany has been asking me to make some ever since I told her about them and I also wanted to give some to Finn tomorrow because I know how much he likes them."

"What's in them?" Quinn leaned forward to get a better look

"Dairy-free milk, sugar, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and some matcha green tea powder. They're called vegan green tea cupcakes. My Daddy used to make a huge batch of them so that I could have one every night that he was on stage, which was a lot but I didn't mind. They're quite good for you, as you probably already know green tea prevents cholesterol build up and balances blood sugar levels amongst other things..." Rachel tiredly rubbed her eyes and started to pull them out of the baking tray to place on a plate. Quinn ignored the little voice in her head telling her that a sleepy Rachel was a cute one and took one of the cupcakes for herself.

"Not bad" she chewed slowly. It was true, for vegan cupcakes they weren't as bland as she thought they'd be, it was the vanilla extract that helped with that.

Quinn watched Rachel for a few minutes as the tired girl set up all the cupcakes to look like a pyramid on the plate and she couldn't help but smile at how Rachel always had to have everything perfect and organised. It was almost like she had OCD or something. Quinn found the detail Rachel put into things more endearing nowadays though, a part of her thought it was because she'd been forced to notice these things about the other girl now that they lived together. It's hard not to notice how Rachel always constantly cleaned things, or made ridiculous lists that other people would find really unnecessary, like a list of the 5 closest Laundromats -which the Diva explained was a very good list that they would find highly useful if their washing machine ever broke down- Quinn didn't bother telling the brunette that they could just google it because she knew that the reply she'd get would be something like _And what would happen if the internet didn't work on our phones that day Quinn?_.

The Diva, if anything, was relentless.

If Rachel had a problem with Quinn staring at her she didn't voice it so Quinn took the opportunity to notice how tired Rachel actually looked. She knew that at least 3 times a week Santana would kick the brunette out of the room so that her and B could do whatever it is that they do alone (which Quinn doesn't want to think about) and up until this moment it hadn't bothered Quinn because it was only Rachel and they had a couch. The blonde didn't really understand why at this late hour on a Tuesday night it bothered her, all she knew was that seeing the bags under Rachel's eyes and the way the girl was dragging herself lazily around the kitchen as opposed to bouncing around it like she usually did, didn't feel right.

"Berry, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Quinn rested her elbows on the bench and ran her fingers through her hair. _Definitely need to shower in the morning_.

"I'm going to have lunch with my Dad."

"What time?"

"I'm not sure yet, I know he booked a table already but I haven't had a chance to speak with him this week. Was there any particular reason for your asking?"

"Yeah, my parents are coming over so I kind of...wanted the place to myself." Quinn shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, well I could ask him tomorrow and let you know?"

"Thanks" Quinn stood up straight and stretched a little "I'm going to go to bed..."

"Goodnight Quinn."

"Night Berry."

* * *

><p>After making sure all of her vegan cupcakes were tucked away in the fridge Rachel turned all of the lights off and got onto the couch. Since sleeping on it had become a regular thing for the brunette, she'd picked up the habit of swapping which end to sleep on every other night because it became even more uncomfortable if she didn't. Luckily the end she was lying on tonight was next to the small coffee table so she was able to put her alarm on that instead of having to reach out for it on the carpet in the morning.<p>

"Just sleep" Rachel sighed into the darkness.

She used to be able to fall asleep on cue but ever since moving in here and getting a job it's the exact opposite, and Rachel didn't miss the irony in it because even though she'd always been a busy person she's never had a problem with falling asleep quickly. But now that the Diva had all these extra things going on, she still found herself lying awake at night thinking about it all.

Rachel always thought that she was one of those people that were good at managing and sticking to a schedule. In high school she was captain of the Glee club and also a member of the speech club, Mock United Nations club, Renaissance club, Muslim student club and the Black student union. She had singing and dance lessons twice a week and even on top of all of that Rachel would volunteer her talent to younger students at her singing school on Saturday afternoons _and_ still managed to upload a Myspace video everyday. The Diva used to think it was just about sticking to a rigorous routine, but looking back on it now she really didn't know how she managed so many activities because it felt like she could barely make it to classes on time lately.

Something always came up to throw her out of schedule; like Santana telling her to sleep on the couch because it meant that Rachel had to sneak back into the room to get her outfit in the morning and that always left her ten minutes behind her morning schedule because she tried so hard to be quiet. Ten minutes is a lot of time when you feel like you've got none at all. Or there are the times when Rachel worked, and even though it seemed silly and she knew that getting a job was a necessity in her decision to support her Dad in the divorce, Rachel couldn't help but resent the fact that three nights a week she spent her time washing dirty dishes or waiting on people instead of doing homework or going through her skincare routine or even just having a little nap.

She also missed her Daddy, a lot. Sometimes Rachel day dreamt about how much easier her life would be if he wasn't trying to tear their family apart. Other times she was just so angry with the way he was treating her Dad. There had even been a couple of times that The Diva found herself dialling his number just to yell at him, she yelled about everything that was frustrating her and he just listened calmly and then changed the subject, it frustrated her even more.

But even though Rachel sometimes felt that she was stretched to her emotional limits, or that sometimes she couldn't keep on top of her routines and lists, the Diva had never felt so normal in her life. This is what normal people did right? They balance an education _and_ a job _and_ their social life and even though her social life consisted of doing trivial things with a fat cat and the only friend she has ever had- Rachel was just thankful that she finally has a friendship with someone. Finn doesn't count.

So lost in her thoughts the brunette didn't notice the sound of a door opening from the hallway, or her blonde roommate hesitating by the other side of the couch.

"Berry?"

"Quinn!" Rachel jumped "Is that you? You scared me, is there something wrong?"

"Uh, yeah sorry...I just wanted to let you know that if you're uncomfortable on the couch then you can...you know" Quinn scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.

"I can what?" Rachel frowned pushing her palm against her racing heart.

"Well I've slept on the couch before and from what I can remember it's not that comfortable, so I was offering you Santana's bed... If you wanted it that is..."

"Oh" Rachel nodded slowly and the two girls lapsed into an awkward silence. It was moments like this that are what confused the brunette most about Quinn. Sometimes when it was just the two of them (which is mostly late at night Rachel finds herself realising) the blonde is a lot nicer. It's almost like Quinn has two different personalities. Through the day there's the one that likes to completely ignore Rachel unless she's calling her all sorts of names like Rupaul and man hands; and then there's this Quinn- the caring one who always looks like she's on the cusp of doing or saying something.

Rachel had spent a lot of time thinking about these two different versions of the blonde girl, she'd even considered making a list to understand it more, but the reason why she hadn't gone through with that yet is because it's really none of her business and she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize this side of Quinn, especially because she actually enjoyed spending time with the blonde when she wasn't calling her names.

"Berry?"

"Sorry, I'm just very tired but that would be really lovely, thank you Quinn" Rachel smiled kindly at the ex cheerleader and then stood up and placed her pillow under her arm so that she could carry her blanket and alarm clock to the bedroom. Before the Diva could pick the blanket up Quinn was already walking back towards the hallway with it hanging over her shoulder and Rachel decided to just not ask. She's been deciding that a lot lately when it came to Quinn.

Quinn was already settled in her own bed by the time Rachel got into the room and the brunette felt all of her muscles relax the moment she collapsed onto an actual bed for the first time in days. It felt good, and all too quickly her eyes started to feel heavy and her breath evened out. It wasn't until a few long minutes passed where Rachel was dancing on the fence between consciousness and unconsciousness that she heard the other girl's soft voice again.

"Night Rachel."

Rachel's heart fluttered, it was the first time Quinn had addressed her by her actual name.

The next morning the Diva woke up to an empty room and a post-it note stuck to her forehead reminding her to ask her Dad about Thanksgiving. Even though she knew she didn't have the time to waste, she stared at the ceiling of Quinn and Santana's bedroom for around 5 minutes wondering what the blonde was doing up so early.

Quinn wasn't in the kitchen or lounge room either but Rachel was already running late as it was so she quickly changed into her running outfit and set out on her morning routine without another thought about her roommate.

Wednesdays were always Rachel's least favourite day of the week because they had a lecturer come in and talk for hours and hours about everything to do with the history of theatre and she'd never been the type of person to favour a class where they're not doing anything except taking notes and talking instead of a class where she was acting or singing. Rachel would always get fidgety during these lectures, and today was no exception. Tapping her pen against her notebook (and receiving a few glares from the other students for it) Rachel's mind wondered off to what they rest of the day had to offer.

Lunch with Brittany- that was always nice, usually they stayed in the cafeteria but sometimes her blonde friend would agree to accompany her to one of the bakery's or diners nearby that catered to vegans and they would both order a meal and share it. That was one of the things Rachel liked the most about Brittany; she was so open-minded and carefree that she didn't mind trying new things.

After lunch they'd part ways because Brittany usually had the rest of the day off and Rachel didn't, and then the brunette would make her way back to the auditorium and listen to a guest speaker drone on for another three hours. Sometimes Rachel wondered how the administration at Juilliard found people that liked talking that much, because the Diva herself liked to talk quite a bit but every single lecturer they'd ever had could give even her a run for her money, so to speak. The other thing that Rachel didn't like about this class was that most of the lecturers had either met or heard of her Daddy so the moment they saw her they forgot everything they were saying and started talking about him instead -and contrary to popular belief- Rachel didn't like those moments because she could feel the eyes of all of her peers glaring holes into her head. That's why after the first few times of this happening she started sitting at the back of the class. It was the only class in which she wasn't in the front, and to Rachel it felt justifiable.

When it would hit four-thirty she would rush to the toilets opposite the auditorium and pull her work clothes out of her bag (a cute red chef's dress with red knee high boots) change into them, and run the short distance between Juilliard and where the diner she worked was on. It was called the Spotlight diner and a lot of famous theatre folk frequented there. The Diva knew that the moment she mentioned the named Hiram Berry she'd get the position but did she feel bad about using her Daddy's name to get a job? _No_. Patti Lupone was a waitress pre-Evita, and since the diner is on Broadway the waiters were allowed to sing and dance whenever they wanted so Rachel knew that if she was going to have any job, then this was the most perfect one for her right now. Plus, she couldn't let her Dad continue to pay for her rent when he was struggling himself, even _if_ he'd insisted on doing it until she dies.

Rachel wanted to be grown up and living and making it on her own. What got her through the slow hours working there was thinking about her future interviews when Oprah or Larry King or even David Letterman would pull out a piece of paper with unknown facts about the singer/actress/philanthropist and their audiences would sit up eager in their seats while her interviewer would mention her first ever job in a diner on Broadway. They would chuckle and praise her for her hard work; commend her for becoming the star that she is and all of the audience would gush in awe of her.

That's what helped Rachel deal with the demanding customers, late hours, pitchy voices of her co-workers and her very inappropriate boss that spent all of his time leering at all of the girls that worked for him.

This was basically her Wednesday, Thursday and Friday routine but the reason why the singer hated Wednesdays the most was because of the life-sucking lectures.

Rachel, bored of scribbling stars on her notepad looked around the auditorium seats to see if any of her peers were enjoying this. Mercedes and Kurt sat a few seats down from Rachel but they were on the same row as her so she could clearly see that they were playing a game of hangman. Kurt muttered something that Rachel couldn't hear and passed his notebook back to a very satisfied looking Mercedes. Tina was near the front row of the auditorium, Rachel could see the Asian Goths head resting against one of her friends shoulder's and it reminded her of what Brittany had said about Mike and Tina's babies. Rachel snickered to herself. Quinn, Santana and a few other guys she'd never officially met before were also sitting closer to the stage so she could only see the back of their heads and most of them seemed to be listening, except Santana who was staring at the ceiling.

Rachel tuned out of everything around her, closed her eyes and thought about the night ahead. She wondered if Finn was going to show up to drive her home from work like he said he would, and then before she knew it that all too familiar feeling of tiredness crept up on her.

"_Rachel wake up_! Class is over. You're lucky it's dark back here by the way, the lecturer left without even looking in this direction."

"Oh my Barbra!" The tiny Diva shot up in her seat with wide eyes "what's the time? I'm going to be late! I'm going to lose my job after only a couple of weeks and Oprah will mention it in my interview! This is humiliating! I'm goi-"

"Seriously if you don't calm down I'm going to break out, and we can't have _that _happening. Where is it you need to be?"

"1650 Broad-"

"Okay, stop right there" Kurt gaped, holding his hand up. "Rachel Berry you better not have been just about to tell me that you work on Broadway?!"

"It's at a diner Kurt..." The Diva rolled her eyes and leaned down to pick up her bag. "While I appreciate you waking me up instead of leaving me to be locked in here -which if I'm being honest is actually a big shock to me- I really have to go because I'm going to be late and my boss won't like that at all. He will probably make me clean the toilets all night as my punishment!"

"He wouldn't" Kurt gasped at the monstrosity. "Rachel, even though you manage to dress like a toddler and a grandmother at the same time, and you always fight me and Mercedes for the solos in our techniques class, I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't offer you a lift. So get your things together and let's get going!"

* * *

><p>After their lecture had finished Santana and Quinn took a bus to Aldi and did some food shopping for the long weekend. Quinn was stressed. Russell and Judy Fabray hadn't been to the girls apartment in New York since the first month they moved in and the ex cheerleader knew how judgmental her parents could be, she also knew that if they had any reason to doubt her living arrangements that they wouldn't hesitate on insisting she move somewhere more 'suitable' and because the money for her rent and food were coming out of her large college fund, Quinn didn't feel like she could say no to them. That's why this Thanksgiving lunch had to be perfect, the food had to be perfect and the apartment needed to be impeccable.<p>

During the entire twelve minutes it took to get to Aldi, Santana insisted on Quinn just ordering a cooked turkey from one of the many catering shops near their University but Quinn didn't want to do that, as easy as it would be, she wanted to prove to her parents that she was completely capable of being independent and even though she knew cooking a turkey didn't really justify that, she knew her Mother well enough to know the woman would be impressed if she did do it all by herself.

"I don't mean to be a bitch, well yeah I actually do. But seriously Q, are Mommy and Daddy really gonna care that much if you _don't_ add in all the extra shit? I mean lets be real here...pretty sure you've already disappointed them as much as any other Christian daughter can. Remember? A turkey in that oven" the Latina poked Quinn's stomach. "Who the fuck mixes oranges and bacon together anyway?. What you needs to do is stick to the basics, turkey-stuffing the turkey-oven. _Hecho y hecho_."

"You know what they can both be like; I really don't want to give them anything to pick at. I just want a drama-free weekend, and then all I'll have to worry about is the family reunion at Christmas."

"Whatever, that's your sad little issue chica."

Quinn could tell by her friends tone that she wasn't impressed but that was nothing new. Most of the time Santana liked to pretend that she didn't care about anything but Quinn _knew_ her friend, really knew her, and she didn't think it took a genius to tell that Santana hated her parents. Up until they were sixteen the Latina got on so well with Judy Fabray, to the point where it would make the younger blonde jealous. There were so many memories swimming through her head of late night slumber parties at her house, or of the many times Santana and Brittany went with the Fabray's for their family holidays. Her home was literally like a second home to the two other girls.

But then the whole pregnancy thing happened.

At the time Quinn didn't even feel like she was that close with Santana, they had different things going on in their lives and just weren't seeing each other as often as usual. During the four month period that she was kicked out of home the head cheerleader lived at the Lopez house and in a way it brought the two girls closer again because they were around each other almost 24/7. Santana never spoke about Russel or Judy during that time which surprised Quinn, she expected daily rants about her bible bashing parents but it never came. The night she showed up at Santana's door; hysterically crying, the Latina took her in and did the exact opposite of what Quinn thought she would; she comforted her. They slept in the same bed for the entire time the blonde lived there and Quinn never asked why because she knew Santana well enough to know that if they spoke about it then the girl would stop sleeping in the spare room with her and Quinn needed someone to care, she didn't want to risk that.

On the Saturday that Quinn moved back home -when her parents had finally forgiven her- Santana had made some excuse about being busy and sent Brittany to help carry all of her bags back to the Fabray house and at the time Quinn didn't think anything of it but then Santana started making excuses not to go anywhere near Quinn's parents and Quinn started noticing that her Mom didn't seem to like the Latina anymore.

Thinking back on it now, Quinn knows _something_ happened, she knows her friend must have said or done something around that time because there was no reason for her Mom to dislike the girl so much. Quinn also knew how fiercely the Latina loved, most of the time she liked to act like nothing mattered and that she didn't care about anything but in the rare moments -the moments it counted- she really knew how to show that she cared more than anyone. That was what Quinn thought about when she questioned why she was still friends with Santana, because sometimes she did question it. The girl knew how to push her to limits that Quinn didn't even know she had but the friendship was worth it because being one of the people that Santana cared deeply about made her feel special, even if her friend didn't always show it.

Santana didn't even acknowledge Quinn's parents until the girls left Lima and moved to New York and ever since it'd just been little quip's about them. A part of Quinn had wanted to ask her for a while now why that was, why she only felt comfortable enough to mention their names again after they'd moved 590 miles away from Lima.

They had yet to have that conversation.

It was just after 9 by the time Quinn had finished preparing all of the food for tomorrow and started cleaning the place up. She felt tired and frustrated because she'd planned to have at least finished the dusting and vacuuming by now and neither of her best friends had offered to help her at all, but what was new?. At about half past ten she was just finishing off cleaning the bathroom when she heard the front door open and that all too familiar voice of Rachel. Determined to find out what time the girl had lunch with her Dad the next day, Quinn strode back into the lounge room.

"Look B, the hobbit brought Gandalf home" Santana's voice travelled through the hallway. Quinn noticed Rachel standing by the front door with someone she'd never seen (but had heard of a few times) and immediately wiped the sweat from cleaning off of her forehead. First impressions always mattered, and she was a Fabray after all.

"Very funny Santana" Rachel turned to the giant guy standing next to her as Quinn entered the room. "Finn, this is Santana and Brittany my roommate and friend" Rachel beamed at the boy "Brittany and Santana, this is Finn. We went to Elementary school together and have been sharing singing classes for a number of years now. Finn is training his voice to be leading man material" she turned back around and noticed the other blonde. "Oh! And there's Quinn."

"Jeez thanks Berry, way to introduce me" Quinn rolled her eyes and flopped down on the couch next to her two snickering friends.

"Wow you're like, super tall"

"Thanks, it's cool to finally meet you by the way. Rach's always going on about you and stuff, you seem really...cool" Finn smiled at Brittany. The way he nervously glanced at the other two girls made Quinn smirk, she liked getting that reaction from people, especially people that had their hand grasped in Rachel's. Quinn quickly frowned that thought away, and then justified it by thinking that the two looked way too odd to be together.

"So this is my lounge room" Rachel proceeded to drag Finn around to give him the grand tour. Quinn smiled at how excited the Diva was to show him their apartment, it was nothing special and the fact that Rachel seemed so proud was... nice.

"Seriously? I wonder if she has any other hidden gems lying around. I have to say, I didn't see this one coming, I mean, who knew that this _entire_ time midget was hanging around lumps the clown? This is like, all my Christmases and Easters rolled into one. Imagine the two of them walking down the street together? It would be like a freakin' circus!, baby you should totally have the two of them on your web show, you'll get like, a gazillion hits"

"You're so smart San"

"Ew, can't you two wait until I'm off the couch before you start kissing?" an annoyed Quinn stood up from the couch and followed in the direction of Rachel's voice.

It was starting to get really late and the ex cheerleader still needed to finish cleaning so she didn't have the time to waste, she needed to know when Rachel was going out the next day, especially because she knew her Mom would be calling by 7AM to find out what time Quinn wanted them there. The woman had seriously never slept past 6 in her entire life.

"Thankyou for walking me home Finn, that was very chivalrous of you" Quinn heard coming from the other side of her bedroom door. A part of her knew that it was wrong to listen in on other peoples conversations but she was curious because even though she'd heard Rachel mention someone named Finn before, she kind of always just thought the Diva was making him up, she didn't actually think that Rachel had any real friends, but now here he was, looking at the small brunette like she was the only thing in the world and Quinn was curious. _Are they just friends? Does Rachel know he obviously likes her?_ And most importantly- _Does Rachel like him too?_

"Thanks, that's a good thing right?... Rachel I have to say something. At first when you told me all that stuff about your Dad's I was kind of worried, I thought you wouldn't be able to pay for your own education and rent, or that you'd do it...and then like, realise that it was too hard. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm really proud of you, and I'm sorry for doubting you I guess."

Quinn rolled her eyes and pushed the door fully open. They were in her room anyway so if the two of them wanted privacy they should've thought about that. "Rupaul _what_ are you doing? Please tell me you know how rude it is to use other people's rooms?"

Finn literally took a step back seeing how annoyed the blonde was and Rachel's eyes widened comically. Quinn knew that she was over reacting, but that didn't stop her.

"Quinn. I w-was just showing Finn around, and I suppose I should've asked you or Santana first but I honestly didn't think you would mind at all. I should have taken Finn into my room but because it's off the lounge room I assumed that you would all prefer me to speak with Finn somewhere out of earshot"

"Which is like, nowhere in this apartment because you're that loud!"

* * *

><p>Rachel was <em>furious<em>, and also a little embarrassed.

Over the last couple of weeks the two girls had almost been getting along, even if it was when nobody was around, but Rachel still thought they were heading towards a friendship and that was why she didn't think Quinn would mind if she used her room for five minutes to talk with Finn. She understood why the blonde was mad and she now knew that assuming Quinn would be okay with it was wrong, but to insult her in front of somebody Quinn had never met before, it was extremely rude and it made Rachel realise that the friendship she had been hoping for was clearly not mutual!

"I'm very sorry. It won't happen again." Rachel rolled her eyes, took Finn's hand and stormed out of the room because spending another 5 minutes near Quinn was something the Diva was _not_ willing to do. At least Santana was consistent, she was always rude to Rachel and because of that Rachel knew what to expect from her, but walking back towards the front door she realised that Quinn had been misleading her- making her believe that they could be friends and now that Rachel saw the truth, well it hurt a little.

"Uhh" Finn scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Rachel felt bad for him; she hadn't mentioned anything about her relationship with Santana or Quinn but now seeing how confused he looked she felt bad. She should have told him that she didn't really get along with them, and then he might've understood why she was so upset all of a sudden. He was her friend and she didn't have any reason not to tell him. "Rach-"

"I'm sorry Finn" Rachel whispered, practically throwing herself into his arms. The Diva knew that two of her roommates were still sitting on the couch, she could feel Santana's eyes on her and it was frustrating because she knew she owed Finn some sort of explanation about why Quinn had been so rude but Rachel didn't feel up to talking about it, all she wanted to do was go to bed.

"Rach, you're gonna be okay?" Finn pulled back and stared at her with worried eyes.

"Yes" Rachel smiled, using every bit of acting advice she'd ever gotten. "Thanks again for taking me home. I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Sure" the boy smiled and then hugged her again. "Have a good thanksgiving."

Rachel watched him walk down the hallway, he kept looking back and pulling silly faces to make her smile, it was times like this that Rachel really just wanted to be with him. Finn was always there for her. Rachel knew he wanted to be her boyfriend and half the time she was wishing she felt the same about him, but when she thought about the two of them together it was always in the future, there was always something holding her back from taking that step further.

Finn was always her husband in the future, not her boyfriend now.

"Santana, can you please tell Quinn that I will be having lunch with my Dad at one tomorrow, I'll most likely leave here around twelve and I'll make sure I'm not back until after five. I'd appreciate it if you could tell her that. I'm going to bed" Rachel sighed knowing the blonde in the other room could probably already hear her because she was 'so loud' or however Quinn had put it.

"Why can't y- ouch B" Santana whined rubbing the rib that Brittany had elbowed.

"Goodnight Rachel!" Brittany waved, Rachel gave her a small appreciative smile, sometimes her friend seemed to know more about what was going on than anyone else did and right now Rachel was really thankful for that because the last thing she wanted to have to do was talk to Quinn herself.

The next morning when Rachel woke up at 6.30 to start on her morning routine she expected the house to be completely silent. So when she walked out of her room to find the last person she wanted to see right now running around the kitchen like there was a fire somewhere, Rachel had seriously considered just going back to bed until Brittany was up, at least then she would have a better chance of getting out of the apartment without any confrontation. The Diva wasn't quite sure how Quinn was going to treat her today, she didn't know whether she should prepare to be yelled at again, or be prepared for Quinn to just pretend like nothing had happened. Rachel didn't expect any sort of apology because that was foreign to the other girl, the entire year and a half they've known each other Quinn had tormented the smaller girl and did she ever apologise for it? _No._

Rachel bit the sigh that wanted to escape her lips and made a beeline for the front door, if she could get out without being seen then this day would start off much better. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be because the moment Rachel's hand touched the front door handle she felt Quinn's eyes on her, it was the type of feeling she imagined the protagonist in a horror film to feel, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, her heart rate went from a comfortable rhythmic beat to a fast drumming and her breath hitched, something she hoped Quinn hadn't heard. Rachel was never one to be intimidated though so she squared her shoulders and spun around to face the onslaught of her blonde roommate, but it never came, and _that_ confused her more than anything.

Quinn just stared at her.

The taller girl was standing right beside the kitchen bench, dressed in an old hooded jumper and bed shorts and holding a pot filled with potatoes. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun and she looked very tired, almost as though she'd had no sleep at all.

It was the first time ever that Rachel had seen Quinn like this. The blonde was always dressed immaculately, she always sat with her back straight and her hands clenched together and ninety-nine percent of the time Quinn seemed nonchalant, like nothing or nobody could affect her. Even when she was mad she still held herself completely together and in the few small conversations they had shared when they were alone Rachel still knew that Quinn was trying too hard to be something she wasn't, almost like she'd practiced playing the perfect person for so long that even when she was supposed to be relaxed she couldn't.

The girl standing in front of Rachel now looked like a different person and it wasn't the clothes or the hair, it wasn't the way Quinn's chest heaved from exhaustion or how her shoulders hung low. It was the way she was looking at Rachel.

Quinn looked so sad, so defeated and it made the brunette's chest feel heavy because she never looked like that.

Their eyes locked and the blonde opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, like she was on the cusp of saying something and for the first time ever Rachel thought that Quinn was about to apologise to her so the Diva waited, she gave Quinn ten long seconds because she was sick of hoping they could be friends and ten seconds was a very long time to say two words in. The blonde didn't respond though, her time had run out and Rachel was sick of Quinn Fabray and her mind games so she turned back around and left the apartment, all thoughts of Quinn with it.


End file.
